City ranks mid-table on quality of life index

Wakefield has been ranked mid-table on a quality of life study for towns and cities across the north of England.

The Northern Powerhouse Liveability Index has graded Wakefield 40th out of 72 local authorities on a rundown of the best and worst places to live.

The index took several factors into account, including job opportunities, the availability of local housing and affordability.

On a scoring system where an average mark was given to be 300, Wakefield rated 299 on quality of life for residents.

On affordability, which measured house prices against average earnings, the city got a mark of 98, where 100 was the average score.

Four out of the five best places to live were deemed to be in the north-west, with South Lakeland, Fylde, the Ribble Valley and South Ribble heading the list.

They were joined on the list by the Craven district in North Yorkshire, which incorporates the towns of Skipton and Settle.

Blackburn, Oldham and Bradford were deemed to be the three least desirable places to live.

The report was put together by homes provider Your Housing Group and the Northern Powerhouse Partnership.

The Partnership’s director Henri Murison said: “It is not accurate when people claim it is grim up north - prosperity and inequalities vary from area to area.

“Ensuring people can continue to afford decent places to live, even as in the coming decades we close the £7,000 income gap between workers in the north and the south, will mean different priorities in housing to deliver affordability across the north.

“Areas in need of more focus from the government include towns, and less well-known cities, which have missed out so far on much private-led investment and infrastructure.”